Overworked, Underpaid (But Very Loved)
by goodluckdetective
Summary: Human!AU (Thursday Nights). Leo is bone tired and Mikey…well Mikey gets it.


Leo could fall asleep anywhere. _Anywhere._ He had always been able to, though Mikey had only recently become aware of this in the past few months, since Leo had taken up two jobs along while making his way through his senior year. It wasn't like he didn't notice before. Mikey could remember walking home to find Leo passed out on the floor, on the couch, in a laundry basket, plenty of times during his childhood. Unlike Donnie, Leo had no problems with insomnia. Sleep came to him easily, naturally.

However, in the past Leo was able to control where he fell asleep. Each of his naps were planned. Now? Well, Leo planned everything but sleep.

Mikey sighed when he walked into the kitchen to find his older brother passed out in his seat at the table. Leo's head was lying on the wooden surface, his math homework serving as a temporary pillow. The eraser of his pencil touched his lips, Leo had been chewing on it again. It was an old nervous habit of his, one he tried to rid himself of since he was in 5th grade. He wasn't making much progress. It was understandable given their current circumstances. Mikey walked over to the table and pulled the pencil away from his brother's lips. He placed it on the kitchen counter, but not before wiping the droll onto his jeans.

"Gross big bro," he said, soft enough that Leo wouldn't wake. Mikey was almost impressed that Leo managed to pass out so fast. They'd only been home for half an hour, maybe less. Falling asleep in such a short period of time likely deserved a medal. Mikey was almost jealous; it took him forever to fall asleep. Not as long as it took Don, but long enough for it to be annoying. How could Leo fall asleep so fast?

Maybe because, unlike his brother, he got more than 5 hours of sleep a night. That could have something to do with it.

Mikey walked over to cabinets and pulled out a box of cereal. He couldn't go to practice on an empty stomach. He was already in his gymnastics uniform, a bright forest green ensemble that he'd luckily managed to get for free from the school since he showed so much promise on the junior varsity team. He was pretty thankful for the free swag; if he had to pay it himself, he would have been screwed. Leo didn't like to talk about their money problems to any of them, but they were all more than aware of how desperate things were. Leo's constant sleepiness was sign enough of that. He poured himself a big bowl of cereal set it down on the counter so he could grab milk from the refrigerator. When he got that, he poured enough into his bowl so it was drenched, while humming "Eye of the Tiger."

The Tigers. That was their opponent for the next gymnastics tourney. They were the best gymnastic team in the tri-county area, big, burly guys who were rude enough to earn themselves a reputation. If Mikey ever wanted to make state, he'd have to squash them flat this Saturday.

"We got this, don't we lucky headband?" He reached up and tugged at the orange headband he always wore during practice for luck. His father had given it to him back when he first started gymnastics, as a way to calm his nerves. Not that Mikey's nerves really needed calming; he'd taken to the practice like a true natural. He was suited for flipping away on gym mats and bounding over large obstacles. In fact, it even helped him with his ADHD; he'd been able to focus better ever since he started. His father tried to get him a private tutor for it, stashing away parts of his paycheck each month to make it feasible.

Then the accident happened and any dreams of that went down the toilet.

Mikey wasn't bitter. As long as he had his mats, flips and family, he'd carry on. But he missed seeing his father cheering in the stands as he landed in a triple flip.

And he missed Leo.

Since Leo had started working, really working, the presence of his eldest brother had been sorely missed at his gymnastic meets. Leo could almost never make it, forced to spend his time working at the library desk or slaving away at the fast food window. Raph and Don tried to make up for it, his twin brothers showing up for every meet to film his antics, but it wasn't the same as Leo being there in person. As hearing Leo cheer as he flew into the air.

Leo was trying to make up for that today. It was his first day off in a long time, and his brother had planned to spend it at Mikey's gymnastic practice. Well, planned before he fell fast asleep.

Mikey plopped himself in the chair next to his brother, inhaling his cereal as fast as he could. He had around ten minutes before he'd have to head out for practice. Leo didn't stir as he munched away. Afraid for his brother's homework, Mikey tugged it out from underneath his head to safety. Last thing Leo needed was to explain drool stains to his math teacher. Mikey placed the worksheet into Leo's backpack and looked at his brother's face.

Over the last three months, Leo spent most of his time looking terrible. He made an effort to hide it, but Mikey always noticed. How could he not? There were always dark circles under his eyes. His once well groomed hair was now always messy. He'd gotten thinner. And while he made an effort to smile as much as he used to, Mikey had picked up on how little it reached his eyes.

He couldn't see any of that on his brother's face now. Leo looked content lying there on the kitchen table, fast asleep. The worry lines on his face had smoothed out. The circles under his eyes looked less dark. A smile lingered on his face as he snored. A smile Mikey sorely missed.

Leo would want Mikey to wake him up. Mikey knew that. Leo would want to go to his practice and spend the entire time exhausted to the bone. Leo would want to cheer for Mikey in person to make up for all the missed meets. Leo wanted a lot of things.

Mikey? Mikey just wanted his big brother to relax for once.

He threw his spoon in the kitchen counter, making it on the first throw. After slurping up what was left in the bowl, he put it in the sink as well. It didn't take him long to collect his things for practice and throw them into his orange backpack. Before leaving the apartment, he stopped in front of his sleeping brother. He threw a blanket over Leo's form, he got cold easily, and stuck his hand in his brother's backpack. He found the post-it notes soon enough. Taking one of Don's purple sharpies, Mikey scribbled a message for Leo and stuck it to his brother's forehead. Leo wouldn't be able to miss it.

 _Practice got canceled. Decided to let you sleep. I'm out bothering Casey. Don't get too crazy without me!- Mikester_

Practice was run of the mill. They went through the usual pep talk and did the same drills. Everything was normal. But every once in a while, when Mikey closed his eyes in the midst of his triple flip, he swore he could hear Leo cheer.

When he got back two hours later, his brother was still passed out.


End file.
